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Wishing You a Very Happy New Year

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Wishing You a Very Happy New Year
By: Jonathan Annobil, Toronto ON
President Kabu Asante
Mr. Kabu Asante
President, ACSDC
Wishing you all a very happy New Year. The year, 2022, was filled with difficulties and disappointments, yet most of our community agencies thrived despite the challenges posed by their circumstances.

What does 2023 have in store for us - the Black community? A few weeks ago, the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, announced that a significant amount of additional funding will be given to the Toronto Police Service to "keep our streets safer". While police services are necessary for a well-functioning society, critics say that this increase in the police budget will rob the already underserved communities of funding to support other critical social services.
This increase in the Toronto Police's budget, which is aimed at expanding the size of the police force (and not improving the quality of police training), will almost certainly exacerbate the issue of over-policing, particularly of racialized communities. While the city of Toronto boasts that it spends incredible amounts on anti-Black racism efforts, it will be spending 100 times that amount on the same police force that arbitrarily criminalizes and harasses Black and other racialized people.

Government officials can no longer ignore the evidence that improving public safety goes far beyond increasing the presence of the police. Indeed, we must continue to advocate for the redistribution of resources to community agencies, like all of those that fall under the ACSDC, that promote the betterment of society at its fundamental level.

Le Bureau du President | Mr. Kabu Asante
Je Vous Souhaite à tous une très Bonne Annèe

L’annee 2022 a ete remplie de difficultes et de deceptions, mais la plupart de nos organismes communautaires ont prospere malgre les defis poses par leur situation.

Oue nous reserve 2023 – la communaute noire? II ya quelques semaines, le Maire de Toronto, John Tory, annon ait qu’un financement supplementaire important sera accorde au service de police de Toronto pour «rendre nos rues plus sures». Alors que les services de police sont necessaires dans une societe qui fonctionne bien, les critiques disent que cette augmentation du budget de la police privera les communautes deja mal desservies du finance­ ment pour soutenir d’autres services sociaux essentiels.

Cette augmentation du budget de la police de Toronto, qui vise a augmenter la taille de la force policiere (et non a ameliorer la qualite de la formation policiere), exacerbera certainement le probleme de la sur-police, en particu­ lier des communautes raciales et minorites visibles. Alors que la ville de Toronto se vante d’avoir depense des sommes incroyables pour lutter contre le racisme envers les Noirs, elle depensera 100 fois ce montant pour la meme force de police qui criminalise et harcele arbitrairement les Noirs et les autres minorites visibles.

Les representants du gouvernement ne peuvent plus ignorer la preuve que l’amelioration de la securite publique va bien au-dela de !’augmentation de la presence de la police. En effet, nous devons continuer a plaider pour la redistribution des ressources aux organismes communautaires, comme tous ceux qui relevent de l’ACSDC, qui favorisent !’amelioration de la societe a son niveau fondamental.

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By: Jonathan Annobil, Toronto ON
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